The Hunter Games: Cara & Sam
by eelise
Summary: District 4 may be a wealthier district, but not for Cara Piper and her twin brother Danny. And then the worst happens: she gets Reaped for the Hunger Games. Sam Winchester is the boy from District 12 who volunteered. Neither of them are prepared for what is to come.
1. The Reaping 4

Cara laid back on the bed. Today was the day. The Reaping. The day when everyone in District 4 who wasn't on death's bed shuffled into the center plaza and watched as a random girl and boy were selected to fight in the Hunger Games. Correction- selected to die in the Hunger Games.

She didn't want to get up.

"Rise and shine" her brother called out. Danny walked into the room wearing a crisp clean shirt, his blonde hair brushed out of his face. She glared at him. He smiled back.

"How are you always so…"

"Charming?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"I was gonna say chipper but now I'm thinking annoying."

"Ha ha, get going," Danny said nudging his sister and leaning in. He stook a sniff and frowned, "You seriously need to bathe, you stink" He laughed as his sister threw a pillow at him.

"Definitely annoying" Cara called out as she headed into the bathroom.

* * *

Freshly bathed and dressed in her nicest dress, Cara walked into the kitchen. Rufus' house was old; dust was everywhere, the roof had holes in it, and she still felt like the whole house would blow down during a storm. And yet she still managed to love it.

Rufus and Danny were seated at the table eating a small breakfast. Danny offered her some bread but she shook her head. Eating with her nerves was not an option.

Rufus gruffly spoke up: "You kids better get going. I'll, uh, I'll see you after the Reaping." He gave Danny a pat on the shoulder and Cara a meaningful nod. He wasn't the most affectionate man, but that was just who Rufus was.

* * *

There were too many people around Cara, everyone standing still, looking up at Mayor Shurley as he read Panem's history. The twins had been separated as all the boys and girls were split up and no matter how hard she looked Cara couldn't find Danny.

The mayor finished and the representative from the Capitol, a weird guy named Garth whose ridiculous outfit only made him look smaller than he already was, stepped onto the set up stage. Garth stepped too close to the microphone, causing it to let out a loud piercing noise and making the entire crowd cringe.

"Oops my bad," Garth nervously chuckled. "Okay, welcome to the Reaping of the 74th Annual Hunger Games!"

The mandatory film started to play, showing clips from the last Games. Cara ignored it, and searched for her twin again. Garth took the stage again and introduced District 4's past victors. There were not as many as in 1 or 2, but three people were on the stage behind Garth: Joshua, who was old enough to be Cara's grandpa; Castiel, the handsome Capitol favorite; and Hannah, whose time in the Games had left her mind unstable. Cara's eyes finally found her own, and Danny gave her a small smile.

"Anybody wanna say anything?" Garth asked, offering the microphone to each past victor. "No? Okay, well, let's begin! And may the odds be ever in your favor. Alright, ladies first."

He reached into a large bowl with thousands of names and rummaged around. Cara couldn't breathe.

Garth picked out a piece, unfolded it, and cleared his throat.

"Cara Piper."

* * *

 _Cara Piper_

Her own name rang through her head. The worst had happened.

She climbed the stairs in a daze, barely even seeing where she was going as she took her place on stage. She steeled her face against any emotion, she was used to that from the home. She needed to think.

She was going to the Games. But with who?

Just in time, she looked up at Garth who had his hand in the other bowl. He pulled out a slip and opened it up.

"And for the male tribute," he announced, "Daniel Piper."


	2. The Reaping 12

Sam woke up to the sound of his brother screaming his name. Worried that something happened he quickly searched for Dean, only to find his brother asleep in the next room. Dean was having nightmares again. It happened every year before the Reaping.

Sam didn't wake Dean up directly but made sure to make enough noise as he got dressed for the day. Reaping clothes: the nicest shirt, pants, shoes, hell even underwear that he had. Being as poor as they were, the clothes weren't really that nice but they were the best that he had.

Sam wanted to go to the woods so badly. Dean used to be the sole one to hunt with his best friend Lisa Braeden, but when he turned 18 he had had to devote most of his time to the mines. So Sam had been hunting in his place for two years now. He wanted nothing more than to grab his bow and hunt, forget about the Reaping and the Hunger Games. Forget about everything but tracking and hunting and killing the animals in the woods. But it was already late and he had someone to meet.

Sam walked past the center square where Peacekeepers were already getting up for the Reaping, setting up lights and a stage, to a small house. A twelve year old kid opened the door.

"Hey Sam" the boy said.

"Hey Kevin," Sam replied with a smile. He held out a shirt. "Let's get you ready"

Kevin Tran was as close to a little brother as Sam had. Sam would come over and help him with schoolwork, even though he was a super smart kid. Kevin was a good kid who didn't deserve all the crap that this life brought. His mom was feisty and had pissed off the Head Peacekeeper, Crowley, winding herself up with a beating and a week in the county jail. Dean and Sam had agreed to keep him safe and fed and take care of him for Mrs. Tran.

Sam helped cut Kevin's hair and button up his shirt. It was an old one of Sam's so it was much too big on Kevin but still looked nicer than any of Kevin's shirts. It was Kevin's first Reaping, so he hadn't needed nice clothes before that.

"Okay, you look sharp Kev. Let's get going." Sam said walking out the door. After a few steps he noticed Kevin wasn't following him. "Kevin?"

Kevin's hands were shaking and he was staring at the floor.

"I'm scared, Sam. What if I get picked?"

"Hey, Kevin, look at me. Your name's in there what, one time? You're a smart kid, you know the probability of your name being picked."

Kevin mumbled the probability quietly.

"Exactly. So you know that the odds are in your favor."

Kevin chuckled a little at Sam's reference to the Capitol slogan.

"Okay. Let's do this."

They shuffled into the square. Dean insisted on Kevin staying in front of him the whole time, until they were separated.

He leaned down in front of the twelve year old. "I'll see you after, okay Kevin?"

"Yeah okay."

Then Dean went with John to stand with the other residents of District 12 who were either too young or too old to be reaped and Sam and Kevin walked on ahead.

The stage was set and every 12-18 year old in District 12 stood in front of it. On it, Mayor Mills and 12's only living victor Bobby Singer sat on chairs. Bobby seemed to be his usual status of shit-faced drunk and almost slid off his chair a few times. The Capitol escort, Becky Rosen, was dressed in a horrible outfit that looked like she was being engulfed by a giant flower. She stood up on the stage looking almost excited about taking two kids to their probable death. The mandatory Capitol video played in the background behind her and Sam could see her mouthing along the words.

"I just love that," she smiled. "Shall we start? As always, ladies first."

She reached into a large bowl filled with thousands of pieces of paper and pulled out one.

"Ava Wilson." A young girl with scared, wide blue eyes walked up to the stage. Tears slowly slid down her face and Sam saw two adults crying as well; most likely her parents.

Sam was getting more anxious by the second. He looked ahead and found Kevin, who was nervously tucking in his shirt. He looked back and found Dean, who gave him a small meaningful nod.

"And for the gentlemen." She did the same thing to the bowl on the other side.

"Kevin Tran," she called out. No, not Kevin. Sam watched as the boy slowly walked out of the crowd and towards the stage. He heard Dean and another voice call out Kevin's name. Then he realized the other voice was his.

"Kevin!" Sam shoved through the people around him and hurried towards the kid, pushing him behind him. "I volunteer as tribute!"

Sam could vaguely hear Dean shouting but it didn't matter. What mattered was Kevin was not getting on that stage.

Becky started freaking out. She smiled widely with closed lips and fanned herself. "It looks like we have a volunteer! Pray do tell, what's your name?"

Sam hated Becky Rosen. He cleared his throat. "Sam Winchester."

Becky walked over, getting way closer to him than he was comfortable with.

"Sam Winchester, and why have you volunteered for young Mr. Tran?" She started to run her hand down his arm. It took all of his self restraint not to throw her arm off him.

"Because he's only a kid. He deserves to have a life," he responded. Sam met eyes with Kevin. He was saying this to Kevin, not Becky, not the Capitol cameras. You deserve to have a life Kevin.


	3. Goodbye District 4

This had to be a joke. Some sort of sick joke. There was no way, absolutely no way this could be real.

But that was Danny approaching the stage. Cara looked in desperation to the crowd. "Somebody volunteer!" she shouted. Everyone just looked in confusion at her, not realizing the connection between the two tributes yet. "Come on! Please!"

That was Danny climbing the stairs. That was the person she had protected her whole life being sent to his death with her.

Garth looked at the two of them, clearly seeing the resemblance. Anyone could put two and two together, even Garth.

"Piper... hey, are you two related?"

Danny swallowed, his eyes never leaving Cara's. "She's my sister."

There was a communal gasp from the rest of the district. Garth let out a sigh into the microphone.

"Twins" Cara croaked out.

All noise from the crowd suddenly stopped. District 4 was silent.

And then there was movement, and the Pipers turned to see that everyone in District 4 was pressing their three middle fingers to their lips and raising their hands to the sky. It was an old gesture, but it meant admiration, a fond farewell.

* * *

The door opened and Cara stood up. An older man walked in, his face serious and his dark eyes sad.

"Rufus" she weakly said.

"Hey Care." He walked over towards her.

"What are you doing here, go talk to Danny" she didn't mean for her words to come out that harsh.

Rufus gave a small sad chuckle. "Danny's girl is visiting him now, I'll go over after. "

Danny's girl, ha. Cara had almost forgotten about Madi. Danny had had the biggest crush on her: Madi Prince was the Captain's daughter on the ship that the twins worked as deckhands on. Then finally in the last two months he had actually gotten up the nerve to talk to her. And talking had led to flirting. And flirting had led to dating. Madi and Danny had this on and off thing, one week they were all puppy love and the next couldn't stand to talk to each other. Last Cara had heard they were off, because "the Reaping was going to be too painful." And yet she was there.

"Rufus what am I going to do?"

"You're going to look out for your brother, same as you've been doing your whole life. You protect him in there, you hear me? You kids are tough. Remember all I taught you and fight like hell." With those last words, Rufus pulled Cara into his arms in a tight embrace. The Peacekeepers sent him away soon after that.

* * *

This was the worst possible thing that could have happened.

It would have been horrible if she had been reaped.

It would have been even worse if Danny had been reaped.

But this, this was awful. There was no way she was going to kill her brother, or let anyone else kill him. And she couldn't save him if she was dead. But if she saved him from everyone else, he would have to kill her. And she didn't think Danny could handle that.

* * *

Danny and Cara sat on the couch, watching the coverage of the other districts on the television. It wasn't like they enjoyed doing it, but they needed to know who their competition was going to be.

District 1: A boy named Gordon and a girl named Casey. They were both fit, strong, and attractive. But when the camera focused on their faces, all Cara could see was hatred in their eyes.

In District 2, the Reaping didn't even occur. Several tributes volunteered, and a girl named Bela and a boy named Brady ended up being chosen. The boy looked around the Pipers' age, maybe a little older. Just by looking at him you could see he had trained his whole life for this, and the girl was slim but the burning hatred was in her wide blue eyes as well.

District Three was known for its technology, and its tributes didn't look all that threatening. Cara couldn't remember the guy, but the girl tribute, Charlie's red hair and big doe eyes stuck in her mind. She was only twelve and looked too nice for the Games.

Cara wanted to close her eyes as she saw herself on the screen but it was like her eyes were glued open. Her name was called and Cara watched herself climb the stairs and stand. Luckily she didn't look scared or weak, she just looked… numb. Then Danny's name was called out. She saw herself scream out "No!" as Danny walked up to the stage. She hadn't even realized she'd done that.

Danny's arm slid around her shoulders and she let him pull her into his chest. The rest of the tributes passed by in a blur, a few sticking out here and there. A girl from 5 who smirked; a 13 year old from 7 who looked scared out of his mind; and an older boy from 11, Jake, whose great strength was visible in his muscles and height.

And then there was District 12. The girl, Ava, didn't look like much. Danny sadly sighed as another 12 year old was reaped, Kevin Tran. But then they heard a deep voice call out "I volunteer as tribute!" and watched as a boy stepped out of the crowd. Cara sat up on the couch. Volunteers never happened in 12. The guy was probably 16, maybe 17, and very tall with long hair and a firm jaw. Cute. Another person called out "No, Sammy!" He looked to be older, probably the volunteer's brother. But the volunteer ignored the shout and the twins stared in amazement as he got up on the stage.

Becky Rosen, District 12's escort, was having a fit. With her crazy hair and crazy clothes and her crazy excitement, she made Cara hate her instantly.

"It looks like we have a volunteer! Pray do tell, what's your name?"

The guy cleared his throat. "Sam Winchester."

"Sam Winchester, and why have you volunteered for young Mr. Tran?" Becky asked, walking over and stroking his shoulder.

Sam looked uncomfortable but answered, "Because he's only a kid. He deserves to have a life."

Cara felt a warmth flood through her, and felt herself nodding in approval. She looked over and saw her brother doing the same. Her brother. She stopped herself cold.

No matter how much this Sam guy seemed brave and handsome and good, he would have to die for her brother to live.

But secretly, Cara hoped that if her twin and she ended up dying, Sam would win the Games.

* * *

The Capitol was huge- skyscrapers were named that for a reason. Everything was glamorous and shiny and almost too hard to look at.

"Wow" she heard from her right. Danny had gotten up and was staring out the window next to him with his head craned to see the top of the building.

"We'll be there shortly," Garth said from behind them. "The tribute building's really cool. You guys are from District 4 so you're only the fourth floor, but you're place is still pretty funky."

"It is quite impressive" a deep voice spoke up. Castiel. Their mentor.

* * *

Well, Garth was right: The place was pretty funky. Everything was in cool hues of blues and greens and the dining room was bigger than Cara's bedroom and kitchen in District 4 combined. Cara and Danny took rooms next to each other. She could hear her brother's excited laugh as he looked around his room, "Cara are you seeing this?"

She was. Her room had a huge bed and the floor was covered in a soft rug that almost felt like sand between her toes. She picked up a remote on a bedside table and swiped. The opposite wall changed to look like a forest. She swiped again and a city street appeared. She could almost feel like the people walking were coming at her. Then she swiped again and gasped. She was standing by the ocean, the waves crashing softly to the shore. She was home again.

She quickly shut off the screen. It was too painful to think about home, about Rufus alone in that old dusty house. She couldn't cry now, she couldn't appear weak.

"Garth says it's time for supper." Danny's voice made her spin around, wiping her eyes just in case.

So much food was on the table. Foods she had never even heard of, much less seen, in her life. Danny and Cara looked at each other, smiled, and dove right in.

* * *

Cara had eaten as much as she could without feeling sick and still not tried everything.

They were all sitting around the living room, which was actually the size of a place you could live in. Cara was curled up in an armchair made of the softest material, a cup of coffee in her hand. She couldn't get coffee back in 4 (it was too expensive for her salary) so she'd never imagined how good it tasted.

Garth was the first to speak. "The day after tomorrow will be the chariot parade."

"Chariot parade?" Cara suddenly choked on the hot coffee. She had forgotten about that.

Every year, before tribute training began, there would be a chariot parade. The stylists would dress their tributes in something that represented their district's principal industry. District 1, luxury items. District 11, agriculture. District 4, fishing. Danny and Cara would probably be dressed as fishermen, or if they were lucky sea captains. At least they would look attractive as sailors. One year the tributes were put into giant fish costumes.

Garth continued, "You both have individual stylists. Danny, you will be with Uriel and Cara you're with Anna."

Castiel walked into the room. "I know it may seem like a waste of time, but your stylists are actually very important."

Cara snorted. "Yeah. Couldn't die ugly now could we?" Danny laughed darkly along with her.

Castiel was not amused. "It's not a joke. These stylists make you desirable to possible sponsors who could save your life during the Games. So I would suggest you follow exactly what they say."

"And we'll survive?" Danny snarked.

"It's not likely. You two don't seem very strong compared to the District 1 and 2 tributes and you also don't seem particularly optimistic. But maybe, these stylists can make you seem wantable and just maybe, some fools in the Capitol will take a liking to you and try to save your asses." Castiel's face was like a statue. A brooding statue.

"When do we meet them?"

Castiel looked at Cara with a hint of approval. "Tomorrow morning. They'll clean you and you're not gonna like it."


	4. Tributes 4

Castiel was not wrong. A bunch of Capitol people with strange hair and makeup had plucked and waxed all the hair below Cara's head and most on her face. She was raw and so incredibly smooth. She couldn't stop running her hand down her legs.

Suddenly the door opened and a young woman walked in. She looked surprisingly normal compared to Cara's prep team. She was wearing a green v neck sweater and a white pair of slacks. The only thing that was really "Capitol" about her was her flaming red hair. She had big hazel eyes that stared intensely at Cara, looking her over. Cara had to resist the urge to cover herself.

"Hello, Cara. My name is Anna, I'm your stylist."

"So you're here to pretty me up?"

"I'm here to make you impressive. You and your brother are already a Capitol sob story, I say we play on that."

"With what, fish?" Cara snarked. Anna just smiled.

"Not quite."

* * *

Cara had never felt so pretty. She was wearing a long, flowing dress, bejeweled so it sparkled like the sea. Her hair was done in a combination of big waves and braids that looked like fishtails, and painted on her skin were scale patterns. She stared at herself in the mirror. She was an underwater beauty, she was like a sea goddess or something.

"Whoa," Danny said as he entered, taking his sister in. "You're like a mermaid. But with legs."

Cara smiled at her brother in awe. "Yeah you are too."

"Remember: you are tragic. Let the Capitol feel your sadness. You two are like a soap opera to these people."

"A what?" Danny asked.

Castiel responded "They were old television shows, known for being overly dramatic and having tragic plot twists, usually with bad writing and bad actors."

"Thank you Castiel," Anna replied. "Yes, you guys are candy for viewers. So go out there and break some hearts."

* * *

Cara couldn't see anything but District 3's chariot in front of her. The red-haired girl, Charlie, Cara remembered, was wearing a costume that was so complex that Cara couldn't even figure out what it was supposed to be. Something with technology she guessed, for District 3.

"You really do look beautiful."

Castiel had a way of popping up without Cara knowing where he came from. Maybe that's how he won his Games, was so quiet no one even knew he was there until they were dead.

"Thanks Cas" she replied. She could have sworn he smiled a bit at the nickname.

"And, uh," he cleared his throat, "You are too Daniel."

Danny gave Castiel that big goofy grin of his. "Awe, thanks Cas. I always wanted to be the prettiest girl at the ball." Cara laughed. Castiel's confused expression only made the twins laugh harder. At least until Anna reprimanded them.

"You are tragic! Stop laughing!"

Danny dramatically waved his hand over his face and turned away, his face exaggeratedly serious. Cara snorted and then wiped her face of all emotion too.

* * *

The crowd gasped when they saw the twins. Cara looked up at the giant cameras and almost gasped herself too. Alone, they each looked amazing. They were mystical, romantic, sad. But together? Together, they were indeed tragic. They looked lost at sea, the only thing keeping them afloat each other.

Cara let a tear slip down her face and the crowd reacted accordingly. She wasn't faking it, seeing themselves had only reminded her of their fate. And here crying actually helped her cause.

Danny wrapped his arm around his sister and pulled her into a side hug. And the crowd practically sobbed.

The Pipers had the whole Capitol's attention. That was, at least, until District 12. As District 4's chariot pulled into the loop, Cara looked back and saw it. The District 12 tributes were on fire.

She remembered Sam from the videos of the Reaping. His outfit tonight was very different from then. He was dressed in complete leather from his neck to his toes, and looked like he was on fire. He was staring stonily at the crowd, like he was above it all. Cara couldn't help but note how good he looked.

* * *

"You two were amazing" Anna praised. Uriel, Danny's stylist, nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes, you certainly got the audience to love you. Of course, they loved District 12 as well." Castiel added.

Danny scoffed. "Hell, I'll be surprised if they even remember us. That fire sure was something."

"Yeah, it looks like you'll have some competition for sponsors," Anna commented.

* * *

Training started at sunrise.

Cara was used to waking up early. She liked to go for runs before work started to clear her mind and work started pretty early.

Still, it had been a rough couple of days. She just wanted to sleep. However, scaring her brother was not an opportunity she could miss out on.

Cara opened her door to find Castiel in the hallway. She ushered him over to her.  
"C'mon. We're gonna put our faces right up next to his, like an inch away. OK?"

And they did as she said, although Cas didn't really understand why they were doing it at all. Cara spoke softly and sweetly. "Daniel, Danny… honey it's time to wake up..."

Danny slowly opened his eyes and then immediately shouted and pushed himself back into his bed. Cara started roaring with laughter and looked over at Castiel. "Cas are you smiling?" His face immediately returned to its very serious scowl. "No, no you can't take it back! I saw you smile!"

"Smile or no smile will you both get out of my room?" Danny groaned.

* * *

Careers. They were the ones to beat.

The cheerful start to this morning had disappeared as soon as they got into the training center. The Careers were currently at knife throwing practice and man were they good. The girl from 2 (Bela was that her name?) hadn't missed a bullseye yet.

Castiel told the twins to remain low-key. But they were actually talented and it was hard to hide it. They were tall- Cara was 5'11 and Danny was 6'6- and their work as deckhands had made them strong. They excelled at the knot tying and fishhook making stations, and also surprisingly the combative stations. A spear was similar to a trident, and Rufus had taught the twins how to wrestle so they could do hand to hand combat too.

"Cara," Danny whispered. "I think we're being noticed." Cara looked over her shoulder to see the girl from 2 staring at them. And the boy from 1. And the rest of the Careers. And also that girl from 3, what was her name, Charlie?

"So much for a low profile."

* * *

"I'm sorry, what do we have to do?"

Castiel looked at her impatiently. "Private training sessions. You show off your skills to the Gamemakers and they give you a score."

"Yep! The Gamemakers wanna see what you're made of. You guys are made of some pretty good stuff." Garth was slurping some drink through a straw, and laughing at something called a "marmaduke."

"I'm pretty sure they saw our stuff in the training center," Cara retorted.

"This time, they are forced to watch you alone. They rank your ability to win the Games, not compared to the other tributes. It's your time to show them that you are a viable tribute."

* * *

Cara was waiting for Danny to finish his training session. God, she was nervous. " _Show them you're a viable tribute"_ how the hell was she supposed to do that?

"Cara Piper," an automated voice called out.

She took a deep breath, stood, and entered the session.

* * *

The area was filled with weapons and practice dummies and camouflage supplies. She threw a couple of spears, hitting the center of the target each time. Then she tied a rope together out of material and created a hook for the end, then snared a dummy, rigging it so the dummy was hanging from the ceiling. Not knowing what else to do, she began to make a whip out of rope, weaving quickly. But by the time she had finished, the Game-makers had seen enough and told her she could leave.


	5. Scores

"How did it go?" Castiel asked as she walked into the room.

"I guess we'll find out" Cara replied nodding at the screen across the room.

She sat down on the plushy couch next to her brother. She told Danny and Cas what she had done from the spears to the whip. Danny shared his moves: he had done some hand to hand combat with a dummy and a knife, some spear throwing as well, and thrown a few heavy objects around. "Like how I would throw the anchors back at home," he said. His eyes got a far away look.

"The scores should come on any minute now," Anna announced as she sat down in a large chair next to the couch.

As if on cue, the screen lit up with the giant face of Gabriel Godson. "Hello hello!" he chipperly welcomed. Gabriel Godson had been the Capitol talk show host and interviewer of the Hunger Games tributes for the last 24 years. "Welcome to the Review Board for the 74th Annual Hunger Games! For the next half hour, we will be discussing the amazing and not so amazing performances that our lovely tributes have out in for the Gamemakers. Some have stunned our judges and some haven't. But I can guarantee you that it is going to be an interesting show."

Cara rolled her eyes.

"Now where do we begin?" Gabriel asked happily. Like he didn't already know.

Per usual, the Careers scored the highest. Casey and Gordon scored two 9's apiece. Brady and Bela each scored a 10. Surprisingly the boy and girl from 3 both got 8's. And then they were up. Danny laced his fingers with his twin's. Danny's face appeared on the screen. Strange, he looked older. Calm but intimidating.

"And first up we have the handsome Daniel Piper with a.. 10!"

Cara looked at Danny, seeing the same look of happiness and relief on his face that she was sure was on her own. She tackled him in a hug as Anna and Cas shared their congratulations.

"Congrats Danny!" Gabriel's voice picked up. "And now to his twin- oh such a tragic story isn't it?"

Garth hummed in agreement while Cas huffed in annoyance. "Who cares just give us the score already," he muttered.

"And Cara Piper has earned a 9!" Gabriel announced. He kept talking, discussing the twins' talent for District 4 tributes and such but Cara was too relieved to process any of it. Danny pulled her into his side and Cas patted her shoulder.

"Well it looks like you two might not be _completely_ hopeless after all," he smiled.

Cara turned with a smile of her own. "Danny, I think Cas was trying to be funny" she teased.

"You know what Care," her brother responded, his classic smirk on his face, "I think you're right."

"Please," Anna interjected, "Castiel wouldn't know funny if it bit him in the ass." They all shared a laugh at his expense, and even though he joined in Cara still didn't think he fully got why they were laughing. But it felt good to laugh, the stress over the score results finally fading.

They continued to watch the rest of the tributes' scores be announced. Not much happened, a few sevens, an eight. Nothing remarkable until yet again District 12's tribute Sam Winchester, the boy who volunteered, the boy now known belovedly as the "boy on fire" throughout the Capitol, scored an 11.

Cara nearly fell off the couch. Danny breathed out a "whoa" next to her. Cara spun to face her mentor. "Can that even happen?" she asked. She hadn't seen over a 10 her whole life.

Castiel's eyebrows furrowed. "It's very unusual, but yes it has been known to occur."

An 11. Cara couldn't help but look at Sam in a new light. He had changed from someone who Cara hoped might win the Games to a potential enemy. It just occurred to Cara that the boy who volunteered might kill her.

* * *

"An interview too?" Cara complained.

"Cara," Castiel sighed.

"What?" she angrily responded. "What, Castiel? Am I not allowed to be pissed about this whole situation? I'm being sent to a fight to the _death_ with my _twin brother_ , in which there can only be one winner, and yet I'm being forced to do private training sessions and go on a television show to audition for a role I never wanted in the first place! So I'd say I got a right to be pissed Cas!"

"Good!" He exclaimed. "Use that anger, let the Capitol know you are mad and you are not going down without a fight!"

"Our lives are not a soap opera! We are not some kind of entertainment!" She shouted.

"That is exactly what you are!" He yelled back.

"Well I never asked to be! And I don't have to prove my worth to you or anybody." And with that she stormed off to her room.

* * *

Why did this have to happen to her? To Danny? Their odds must have been a million to one, and yet she was in a room, on a train, moving 210 mph, headed to the Capitol to be put in an arena with 23 other tributes all gunning to kill her and her brother who she was somehow supposed to protect and keep alive which meant that she would either have to die protecting him or he would have to kill her because she would have done her job and there was no way she was letting him die so that she could win but she knew her brother and there was no way he would kill her which meant she would have to kill hersel-

Cara's thoughts were interrupted by her door opening.

"Go away, Castiel," she bitterly spat. To her surprise, her stylist sat down on the edge of her bed. "Sorry, I thought you were Cas."

The redhead smiled, "Yeah I got that." She looked at Cara for a bit and then at the wall across the bed. "It's peaceful isn't it, back in 4?" she asked gently.

Cara stared at the wall too. She hadn't even realized it but she had switched the screen back to the ocean view when she had rushed in. "I used to, um, go on runs early in the morning, before Danny or Rufus were up, hell before half the District was up. I would always end up in this one spot on the coast. The water was just so calm and everything was… quiet. I had no worries, no cares. I'd just sit and watch the sun rise over the water."

"I bet it was beautiful," Anna said gently.

"Well it's gone now. I'll probably never see it again." Cara wiped her eyes and sat up, turning the screen off so the wall was just a wall again.

Anna looked at her sympathetically. "Maybe, maybe not. The tributes that win the Games are always the ones who want it the most."

Cara scoffed. "Who the hell would want this?"


	6. Interview

Cara was dressed to kill. Her dress was skin tight and rose gold. It looked like fish scales, not the big clunky ones, but more like a salmon, and shimmered when she moved. The dress had something Anna called a halter neckline, and reached mid thigh. She was trying to walk in the six inch heels Anna had given her, that were some kind of net pattern and also sparkled. She could barely make it five steps without wobbling, but still. Her long hair was separate into parts and braided down her head and back in another fishtail. Her makeup was light and in shades of gold and coral but somehow made her look intense. She was still dressed to signify District 4, but somehow she was no longer some fantasy girl, she was real and she was there and she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

"You ready for this?" Anna asked her.

"No," she responded. "Danny's the social one back home. I more just found people I liked and decided they were going to be my friends."

"Then just pretend the Capitol is one of those selected people. Show them who you are and they're going to love you."

* * *

They put all the tributes into single file and Cara watched as the tributes from District 1 dazzled the crowd, the girl obviously using her beauty and the boy his determination. The girl from District 2 was sassy and the boy was cheeky. The guy from 3 was seemed like a total doofus, but then he started talking about all this science and she realized he was actually probably a genius. Cara saw the redhead girl from 3 sit down across from Gabriel. She looked especially young in a small poofy dress. She talked a lot about technology and you could tell how smart she was. Cara just wished smart was enough for the Games.

And then it was her turn. Danny squeezed her hand reassuringly. And she walked on to the stage.

* * *

There were too many people and too many lights and Gabriel's hair was too tall. But then she caught a glimpse of herself in a camera and decided to give it her best shot. Cara gave the audience her best smile and walked with confidence towards Gabriel.

"Welcome, welcome!" Gabriel greeted happily. "So Cara, tell us what you think about the Capitol"...

The small talk went on for a bit before Gabriel decided to get into the "juicy" stuff.

"Now Cara, we all watched your Reaping with tears." The crowd nodded sorrowfully along with Gabriel. "So tell us, what were your thoughts when you heard your name?"

Cara raised her eyebrows and gave a slight smile. "Well, it was definitely a shock. I mean, you know that your name is in there so many times, and you know that it could very well be you, but you don't think it's actually going to be you. So when I heard my name, it was- I was just in a daze. And then-"

"And then they called your brother's name. What went through your head then?"

Cara was going to lose it. Here was this Capitol airhead trying to get her to share her feelings so that the crowd and Capitol could gossip about how tragic the Piper story was.

"Well, Gabriel, my whole world pretty much crashed around me. You think it was sad to watch? Imagine how it felt." It came out pretty harsh and Gabriel sat back a bit in his chair.

"Cara, you sound a little mad."

"Yeah, Gabriel, I gotta say I'm pretty pissed. Not like it's bad enough to be sent to the Hunger Games with a stranger- but your _twin_ brother? The kid you've looked out for your _entire_ life is Reaped too? Is that even allowed to happen?" Cara was yelling by now.

"It is very unfortunate,"

Gabriel said gently. Bless his soul he was trying to help her seems less off the rails than she was. "My bet is that you're going to keep protecting your brother, am I right?"

Cara nodded. "Till I die," she said. Cara looked out at the crowd with a serious expression. She caught another glimpse at herself on the screen and was surprised by how fierce she looked.

Good, let them see she's a fighter.

* * *

"Please, welcome Daniel Piper from District 4!"

Danny towered over Gabriel by almost a foot, but Gabriel used it as an opportunity for comedy, joking at his own expense.

"Please, call me Danny. Only Rufus calls me Daniel," Danny laughed easily. Cara was jealous, he already seemed to have the crowd's favor.

The questions dwindled by. Gabriel asked Danny about the outfit they wore for the parade and they did a little bit about clothes.

"One last question, Danny," Gabriel said. "You scored a very impressive 10 in your private training session. What can you tell us about it?"

"I don't want to reveal all my talents here," laugh "but I will say that I think I impressed them. My sister and I have been fighting to stay alive our whole lives, we know things about survival that I bet you none of these other tributes do. And she talks all about how she's going to protect me, but I'm gonna be looking out for her too. That's a promise."

"Now I said last question, but I just have to ask one more. We all know how the Hunger Games ends. How do you plan to save Cara when there can only be one victor?"

Cara watched the screen intently, shaking her head slightly and involuntarily.

Danny took a little time before staring straight into the camera and giving his smirk. "Guess I just have to make sure she wins."

* * *

Garth was still talking about how much he liked District 10's cowboy feel and how "cooleo" the twins had done by the time the last district's interviews came up. The girl (Cara learned her name was Ava) seemed very meek and sweet, but Cara suspected it was a ruse. People did it sometimes: acted all nice then turned out to be killing machines. A girl from 7 a few years back, Meg Masters, had done that. She pretended to be weak and nice but turned out to be a ruthless killer.

Cara felt her heart beat faster when Sam Winchester walked across the stage. She tried to stop it. _It's idiotic Cara_ , she told herself. _He's going to try to kill your brother. Kill you._ And yet her heart kept doing its stupid little race.

Sam wasn't helping her problem. He looked spectacular in a nice suit with subtle flame designs crawling up his legs and arms. His long hair was gelled back out of his face and somehow looked curlier that way.

The crowd was in love with Sam from the moment they laid eyes on him, their "Boy on Fire" with flames on his suit. He hadn't even said anything yet and he had the Capitol falling head over heels for him.

Sam had the adorably shy but confident act down. His smile was fucking perfect and Cara's breath hitched in her throat every time he laughed, this contagious laugh with a wide open smile. A few times she caught herself smiling along with him before she quickly caught herself and furrowed her eyebrows again.

"So Sam tell us about what how you got that eleven in training. I mean, an ELEVEN we haven't seen one of those from District 12 in, well, ever!" Gabriel chipperly exclaimed.

Sam for the first time looked uncomfortable, but he laughed it off. "I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to tell, right?" He asked, shouting to the Gamemakers seated above the audience. One of them shouted back "right!" and they had a good laugh about it.

"All I'll say is I think I did something they've never seen before."

Cara wanted to know what it was. She was back in survival mode, although dammit all his smile kept pulling her out of it, and she was desperate to know what skills the boy from District 12 could possibly be hiding.

In all her thinking Cara stopped listening to the conversation and suddenly Sam had stood up and was being engulfed in flames.

"That's a smart move," Castiel said somewhere to her left.

He was right. The audience was going crazy over the Boy on Fire.


	7. Beginning

Cara had insomnia. This was her last night in this bed, this room, the Capitol. Tomorrow she didn't even know if she would be alive at this time.

 _Don't think like that_ her mind told her, but it was now or never. There would be no time for doubt in the arena.

Fierce competition. The Careers are strong, but they don't seem like they'll work team together well. They might turn on each other with the first sign of serious distress. They were the main ones to worry about. Cara was pretty sure she and Danny could take the rest of them. Except for that District 11 boy and Sam, of course. Sam Winchester had probably been invited to join the Career pack. They had approached Danny, but he turned it down for the both of them.

" _There is no way in hell that we are joining those fuckers," Danny had said._

He wouldn't take yes for an answer, despite Cara's protests that it might keep them alive longer.

Sam Winchester had gotten an 11 in personal training. She had no clue what he had done to earn that score, but it meant that he had some serious skills that could allow him to win the Hunger Games.

She considered allying with him, but it would be much easier to let someone else kill him for her. She honestly didn't know if she could do it. She couldn't get over the fact that he had volunteered for that twelve year old boy. She had learned from Sam's interview that the boy was as close to a little brother as Sam could have without blood. He had sacrificed his own life for another's, and dammit if that wasn't the best thing she had seen a person do in a long time.

But goodness like that never lasted in the Hunger Games. He'd be dead and she would be dead and Danny would be dead and that boy from District 2 would probably win. Or worse, the Games would take that goodness and twist it, making the selfless boy into another Capitol monster.

She pushed off the blankets, suddenly too hot in her bed. Fancy fuzzy Capitol blankets.

 _What if they turn me into a monster?_

She couldn't breathe, her room was too stuffy and the walls were closing in on her. And she was running out the door, down the hallways, up the stairs. She just needed to run again and feel that freedom but there was nowhere to run here, she couldn't leave this place.

Cara stopped when she felt the cold air hit her. She was standing on the roof, overlooking the city. Cara sat down. In the streets there was a parade, the Capitol partying all night to celebrate the 74th Annual Hunger Games. So happy that this year there would be some drama, so excited to see who would die and who would live.

It made Cara sick.

* * *

The next morning, Danny looked as bad as she did. He had bags under his eyes and gave her a knowing look as they ate as much food as they could.

"Once you are released, you will see the Cornucopia," Cas said as he led them down the tunnels where the tributes were going to be released. "I am not aware of what your arena will be, but there will always be the Cornucopia. It's the Capitol's ultimate trap, a base stocked full of all the supplies and weapons you could ever need to win the Hunger Games."

Cas suddenly stopped and looked them both intensely in the eyes. "Do not go for the Cornucopia."

"Why not?" Danny asked.

"It's called 'the bloodbath' for a reason."

"So what should we do instead?"

"You get out of there. Look for water, that's where you'll do best being from our district. But be careful because the other tributes will need water too and your opponents will know that's where you'll head. Keep your eyes open, trust your instincts."

He stopped walking then. "This is where I leave you. I can't say that I think you two will live, it's actually highly probable that both of you will die a truly horrid and painful death. "

Cara and Danny both stared at the man in the trench coat incredulously.

"What?" He asked, honestly confused.

"Nothing Cas. Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Cara turned towards Danny and hugged him tightly. "I'll see you in the arena."

* * *

Cara wondered how Danny was feeling.

He was probably terrified.

She was.

He was probably nauseous.

She was.

He was probably shaking.

She looked at her hands. She was.

"How are you feeling?" Cara heard Anna ask.

Anna stood behind Cara with a stack of folded clothes in her arms. The blonde's eyes were ginormous.

"Put this on," the stylist said, handing the jacket to Cara. "You'll be okay."

* * *

The glass tube encased her. She desperately locked eyes with Anna who gave her a reassuring smile.

Then she was rising up and suddenly she was in the arena.

The 23 other tributes were circled around the huge Cornucopia. Backpacks, weapons, food, clothes all poured out of the giant horn. It was definitely tempting, but Cara needed to find Danny. She frantically looked around at the other tributes. Damn it, where was he?

"Ladies and gentlemen! Let the 74th Annual Hunger Games begin!"


	8. Bloodbath

The clock began to toll.

Where the hell was he?

There.

Five tributes away from her.

Eyeing the Cornucopia.

 _No, Danny, remember what Cas said._

But Danny was poised to sprint straight at it.

Seven, six, five, four-

He was going to do it. She couldn't let that happen.

Three

She got ready to run.

Two

 _ONE_

The gong sounded and Cara sprinted as fast as she could at her brother. Another tribute ran into her but she just got up and kept running.

Cara tackled her brother to the ground.

"What the hell are you thinking! We need to get the fuck out of here!" she yelled.

The bloodbath had begun. All around her tributes were fighting and killing each other brutally.

Danny pushed her off of him. "We won't survive without some supplies and you know it!" He shouted back and sprinted towards the Cornucopia again.

Just then a knife whizzed past his ear, almost hitting Cara but she managed to dodge it. Bela, the girl from District 2.

Cara quickly picked up the knife, ready to fight or run whatever need be. Bela was now stalking towards her, spinning a knife in her hand like she was contemplating the most satisfying way to kill Cara. Danny grabbed a backpack and slammed Bela over the head with it, knocking her to the ground and giving the twins the chance to book it towards the woods.

* * *

They had slowed down to a fast walk about two hours ago. Cara was too angry to even talk to her brother. What was that idiot thinking?

They were supposed to not fall for the Cornucopia trap. Castiel had warned them, and yet her _stupid_ brother had thrown all those plans to the wind and decided to go straight for the death trap!

She could kill him. Bad joke.

They had to find water. That was all that was on her mind. It was hot in the woods and already four hours had already passed in the Hunger Games.

Find water. Find water and survive.

Suddenly, there was a cracking sound behind her. Whirling around the twins watched as a small body fell to the ground in front of them. The boy from 8.

The boy stared at the twins with absolute fear in his eyes. Cara held her knife tightly in her hand. She wasn't ready to kill anybody yet, especially not a fourteen year old boy. But what if he had a weapon somewhere and he tried to kill them? What if this whole thing was a setup and the boy was just bait?

Danny ended their indecisiveness. "What are you doing?" he yelled at the boy. "Get the hell out of here!"

The boy scampered into the woods, and Danny and Cara started to run in the opposite direction again.

They finally heard the gurgle of water. This was it, all they had for a plan so far was to find water. Then what were they supposed to do. _Survive_ Cas had said, but how?

Danny suggested they stay back just to be careful, so they surveyed the river from the shelter of the woods. Not too deep, probably around three or four feet. There were boulders too, a bunch of them forming good hiding spots and probably a few caves.

"What do you want to do?" Danny asked. "Stay here in the woods or go look for shelter in the rocks?"

Cara stayed silent.

"I mean, Cas said to find water and we found it so now we just gotta do what he said and survive."

Cara scoffed at the mention of their mentor. "So now you want to heed Castiel's advice."

"Cara, I was not leaving that place empty handed. Once the Careers overtake it, going back is just a death wish and we need as much help as we can get to survive this thing!" Danny sighed, struggling to remain calm. "I saw the backpack and I knew I could make it so I decided to go for it."

"Knew you could make it- you were almost killed by the girl from 2!"

"Well I would've gotten to it a lot sooner if someone hadn't tackled me!"

Their argument was interrupted by the blasting of a cannon. They both backed up against trees and looked wildly around them.

That's when the second cannon blasted. Then another, and another. Cara counted nine in all.

"Those, ladies and gentlemen, are our sounds to honor the fallen tributes," came the voice of Azazel, the Head Gamemaker and Announcer. "The first nine tributes have perished at the Cornucopia. May they carry on in peace in their new lives."

New lives. Bullshit.

Nine kids. Nine were dead.

She wondered if Sam was one of them. It would be so much easier for her to carry on if she didn't have to worry about killing him in the end.

* * *

Danny opened the pack. Inside there was a water bottle and purifier, strips of some kind of dried meat, and what seemed to be a taser.

They had decided to brave the river and find a cave, a cave that was now home base.

Just then, they heard splashing in the river and a scream.

Danny and Cara looked at each other quickly and climbed carefully, standing on to the cave's entrance. Glancing out, they saw the red haired girl from District 3 being chased by that big guy from 11. He was gaining on her fast, as she fell over a rock and struggled to get back up quickly against the current. They looked just in time to watch him grab her small body and force it under the water.

Cara wasn't thinking of survival when she ran out of the cave. She threw her body at the boy, startling him into letting the girl go and taking him down into the water. It had taken her a bit to get from the cave to the other tributes and she noticed in the back of her mind that the girl's body wasn't moving in the water as she plunged into it herself. The river was just deep enough that he couldn't move easily, giving her the upper hand. Cara Piper had grown up in the water. She knew how to move in the current, knew how to use the force of the water to her advantage.

This boy was strong though. He threw Cara off him and changed their positions and before she knew what was happening she was being held underwater by two strong hands. Cara kicked and fought and managed to escape from his grasp. She came up gasping for air and quickly dodged his next attack. They both stood for a moment, staring at each other warily, each ready to pounce. All Cara could hear was a rushing sound, but she couldn't tell if it was the river or her blood. This guy wasn't like Danny. She knew Danny so well that she could always read what his next move was going to be, knew all his tells. This enemy was a brick wall and he wasn't going to stop until he killed her.

District 11 made the first move. He threw a punch at Cara who avoided it and threw her own punch back, making contact with his stomach. They fought like this for a little while more, neither one winning over the other. Then she tried to kick him but he grabbed her leg and knocked her off balance again. Her back painfully hit the rock beneath her. His fist connected with her face and all she could think was _pain._ He hit her again. Her body acted on its own accord, twisting away from the next punch. The boy's hand hit the rock and she used his temporary pain to forcefully push the boy off her. She quickly got up, and got into a defensive position and turned to face her opponent.

The boy was lying immobile, half in the water. Blood pooled from where his head met a sharp rock.

Cara stood there panting, expecting a fight but there was none.

Cannon fire. The Boy from District 11 was dead.


End file.
